Medical Hypotheses (2006) 67, 216228

http://intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/mehy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children

Daniel A. Rossignol
a b

a,b,*

, Lanier W. Rossignol

Blue Ridge Medical Center, 4038 Thomas Nelson Highway, Arrington, VA 22922, USA University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800729, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Received 26 January 2006; accepted 7 February 2006

Summary Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that currently affects as many as 1 out of 166 children in the United States. Recent research has discovered that some autistic individuals have decreased cerebral perfusion, evidence of neuroinammation, and increased markers of oxidative stress. Multiple independent single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) research studies have revealed hypoperfusion to several areas of the autistic brain, most notably the temporal regions and areas specically related to language comprehension and auditory processing. Several studies show that diminished blood ow to these areas correlates with many of the clinical features associated with autism including repetitive, self-stimulatory and stereotypical behaviors, and impairments in communication, sensory perception, and social interaction. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used with clinical success in several cerebral hypoperfusion syndromes including cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, closed head injury, and stroke. HBOT can compensate for decreased blood ow by increasing the oxygen content of plasma and body tissues and can even normalize oxygen levels in ischemic tissue. In addition, animal studies have shown that HBOT has potent anti-inammatory effects and reduces oxidative stress. Furthermore, recent evidence demonstrates that HBOT mobilizes stem cells from human bone marrow, which may aid recovery in neurodegenerative diseases. Based upon these ndings, it is hypothesized that HBOT will improve symptoms in autistic individuals. A retrospective case series is presented that supports this hypothesis. c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background
Overview of autism
Abbreviations: SPECT, single photon emission computed tomography; PET, positron emission tomography; HBOT, hyperbaric oxygen therapy; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; ATA, atmosphere absolute; CP, cerebral palsy; SOD, superoxide dismutase. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 434 263 4000; fax: +1 434 263 4160. E-mail addresses: dlross7@hotmail.com (D.A. Rossignol), dlross7@hotmail.com (L.W. Rossignol).

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder currently affecting as many as 1 out of 166 children in the United States [1] that is characterized by impairments in social interaction, difculty with communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviors [2]. It affects children from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds [3]. Autism was considered

0306-9877/$ - see front matter c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.009

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children a rare condition before the 1990s with a prevalence of approximately 1 in 2500 children [4]. However, according to the US Department of Developmental Services, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders increased 556% from 1991 to 1997 [5]. Autism is now more common than childhood cancer, cerebral palsy, Downs syndrome, spina bida, or cystic brosis [6,7]. In addition, autism is found throughout the globe and the prevalence worldwide is increasing 3.8% per year [8]. Autism is an incompletely understood disorder [3,5], but new clinical research is beginning to unravel some of its mysteries.

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approximately 2% of patients. The incidence of such barotrauma is decreased with pseudoephedrine treatment before HBOT. Less common side effects in descending order include sinus squeeze, serous otitis, claustrophobia, and reversible myopia. Seizures may occur infrequently in about 0.010.03% of patients [9].

Hypothesis
Multiple studies have revealed that autism is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by cerebral hypoperfusion, neuroinammation, and increased oxidative stress. HBOT helps overcome hypoperfusion, has potent anti-inammatory effects and reduces oxidative stress. Furthermore, HBOT mobilizes stems cells from human bone marrow. Therefore, HBOT will improve symptoms of autism.

Overview of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves inhaling 100% oxygen at greater than one atmosphere absolute (ATA) in a pressurized chamber [9]. HBOT has been used successfully in humans at varying pressures to treat a range of conditions. Many clinical applications of HBOT are at higher pressures (over 2.0 ATA) including treatment of decompression sickness, arterial gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning [10], amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [11], and complex regional pain syndrome [12]. However, HBOT has also been used at lower pressures (1.5 ATA or less) with clinical success in conditions including fetal alcohol syndrome [13] and ischemic brain injury [14]. HBOT at 1.5 ATA was utilized in a prospective trial of 168 patients with closed head trauma with a signicant reduction in mortality (32% versus 17%) [15]. HBOT has been shown to increase the oxygen content of plasma [16] and body tissues [17] and can even normalize oxygen levels in ischemic tissue [18]. In fact, the amount of oxygen delivered by HBOT at 3.0 ATA and 100% oxygen is able to keep tissue viable even without oxygen input from circulating hemoglobin [17]. In rat models, HBOT has been shown to reduce the effects of hypoxia and ischemia on the neonatal brain [19]. Human studies demonstrate that HBOT causes mild vasoconstriction resulting in decreased blood ow [20,21] but at the same time causes increased oxygen delivery and levels in target tissues [16,17,20]. By causing mild vasoconstriction, HBOT can reduce edema in ischemic tissue [22] including the brain [20,23], which results in lowering intracranial pressure [20]. HBOT is generally considered safe [17] at oxygen pressures below 3.0 ATA and with treatment durations of less than 120 min [10,13,24]. The use of HBOT in children appears generally safe, even at pressures of 2.0 ATA for 2 hours per day for up to 40 sessions [25]. The most common side effect of HBOT is middle ear barotrauma, which occurs in

Improving cerebral hypoperfusion in autism

Evidence of decreased cerebral blood ow in autism and possible mechanisms of hypoperfusion
Even in the presence of normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ndings, focal areas of decreased cerebral blood ow occur in children with autism [26]. Multiple independent single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) research studies have demonstrated hypoperfusion to several areas of the autistic brain, most notably the temporal lobes [2639]. Several studies show that reduced blood ow to the temporal regions and other brain areas correlates with many of the clinical ndings associated with autism including repetitive, self-stimulatory and stereotypical behaviors, and impairments in communication, sensory perception, and social interaction [27,29,31,3942]. Furthermore, a correlation between decreased IQ and hypoperfusion of the temporal and frontal lobes has been described in autistics [36]. The cause of this decreased blood ow is not known but may be secondary to changes in cerebral arterial resistance. Under normal conditions, cerebral blood ow increases when local brain tissue metabolic rate and functioning increases [43,44]. However, this response may be reversed in autistic children. One of the rst studies measuring cerebral blood ow in autistic children utilized transcranial Doppler ultrasound and showed decreased

218 blood ow and concomitantly increased middle cerebral arterial resistance upon auditory stimulation. Conversely, control neurotypical and mentally retarded children showed opposite results [45]. The mechanism of this abnormal change in cerebral arterial resistance in autistic children is unknown. However, several studies have shown that astrocytes can regulate cerebral blood ow. Astrocytes can directly cause arteriole vasoconstriction through a calcium mechanism [46] and arteriole vasodilatation through a cyclooxygenase medium [47]. Neurons, astrocytes, and vascular cells compose a functional unit that maintains proper blood ow and oxygenation for the brain [48]. Neural activity normally causes increased cerebral blood ow thus delivering increased oxygen [44]. However, a recent study found evidence of neuroinammation and astroglial activation in autism [49]. It is possible that astroglial inammation may affect the control of blood ow regulated by astrocytes and lead to the abnormal changes in cerebral artery resistance and hypoperfusion seen in some autistic children. Furthermore, inammation is a known cause of decreased blood ow and several inammatory conditions have associated cerebral hypoperfusion including lupus [50,51], Sjo grens syndrome [52], Behc ets disease [53], viral encephalitis [54,55], and acute Kawasaki disease [40]. One SPECT study of 27 children with echovirus meningitis demonstrated decreased cerebral blood ow in 74% of the children [55] and two recent SPECT studies revealed impaired cerebral perfusion in 81% of patients with Sjo grens syndrome [52]. In one SPECT study of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 59% had evidence of cerebral hypoperfusion [51]. Furthermore, treatment of the inammation found in lupus with iloprost [56] and methylprednisolone [57] normalized cerebral blood ow on follow-up SPECT scans. It is conceivable that the cerebral hypoperfusion found in autistic children may be triggered by neuroinammation and therefore may be reversible with anti-inammatory modalities.

Rossignol and Rossignol iors including resistance to changes in routine and environment [29]. Hypoperfusion of the temporal lobes has also been linked with increased autism symptom prole scores including obsessive desire for sameness and impairments in communication and social interaction [31]. Another study on high functioning autistics demonstrated decreased blood ow to areas of the temporal lobe and amygdala, which was correlated with clinical impairments in processing facial expressions and emotions [42]. This was conrmed by a recent study of autistics demonstrating diminished blood ow to the fusiform face area responsible for recognizing familiar faces [58]. In addition, decreased perfusion of the temporal lobes is a consistent nding in many studies of autistic children. Two larger controlled studies (2123 autistic children) using SPECT and PET scans conrmed signicant bitemporal hypoperfusion [31,34]. In both of these studies, the control group was mentally retarded; therefore, the hypoperfusion could not be attributed to mental retardation alone [33,34]. Another SPECT study of 31 autistic children, 16 of whom had epilepsy, also demonstrated reduction of cerebral blood ow to the temporal lobes. Of note, cerebral blood ow was not different between those with and without epilepsy, suggesting that epilepsy itself was not associated with hypoperfusion in these individuals [37]. A more recent PET study of 11 autistic children revealed diminished blood ow to the left temporal area, including Wernickes area (which is involved in language comprehension) and Brodmanns area 21 (involved in auditory processing and language), when compared to age-matched mentally retarded children [39]. Interestingly, an association between temporal lobe abnormalities [59] and the subsequent development of secondary autism has been described in tuberous sclerosis [60], infantile spasms [61], herpes simplex encephalitis [62,63], and an acute encephalopathic illness in children [64]. The relative amount of cerebral hypoperfusion in autistic children can vary by age. In one study, hypoperfusion of the prefrontal and left temporal areas worsened and became quite profound as the age of the autistic child increased. This diminished perfusion correlated with decreased language development. The authors concluded that hypoperfusion subsequently prevents development of true verbal uency and development in the temporal and frontal areas associated with speech and communication [27]. Hypoperfusion of the temporal and other brain regions has been correlated with many of the clinical ndings associated with autism including self-

Zones of the autistic brain affected by decreased blood ow and symptom correlations
Cerebral hypoperfusion may play a role in some of the more unusual characteristics of autistic behavior. Diminished blood ow to the thalamus has been correlated with the autistic clinical features of repetitive, self-stimulatory, and unusual behav-

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children stimulatory behaviors and impairments in communication, sensory perception, and social interaction [33,34]. This diminished blood ow may be mediated by neuroinammation. Further studies on the effects of inammation on blood ow in the autistic brain are needed, especially studies involving the temporal lobes where hypoperfusion is common. Whatever the cause of the hypoperfusion, the possibility exists that the enhancement of oxygen delivery to the brain accomplished by HBOT may improve some of the symptoms found in autistic children.

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The use of HBOT in cerebral hypoperfusion disorders

The oxygen delivered by HBOT can reverse hypoxia in brain tissues caused by hypoperfusion [65,66]. Cerebral hypoperfusion causes hypoxia, which triggers electrical failure in brain cells. Worsening hypoxia then eventually results in ion pump failure, which ultimately leads to cell death [67]. Cells that have electrical failure but retain ion pump ability have been described as idling because they remain alive but non-functional [68]. SPECT studies have conrmed the presence of these idling cells, which surround areas of focal ischemia and comprise what is termed the ischemic penumbra [69]. Restoration of oxygenation, sometimes even years after the ischemic insult, can salvage these cells, which may explain why the acute ndings of a stroke are poor predictors of ultimate clinical outcomes [67]. Even though HBOT causes decreased cerebral blood ow through vasoconstriction [70], it simultaneously causes increased cerebral oxygen tension [20] and may accelerate brain recovery from ischemia [71]. In one case report, 80 sessions of HBOT at 1.5 ATA increased oxygenation to the ischemic penumbra on SPECT scans and signicantly improved cognitive and motor function in a patient with an ischemic brain injury from a near drowning episode 12 years earlier [14]. Another study of three patients with brain injuries showed areas of dormant neurons in the ischemic penumbra on SPECT scans prior to the commencement of HBOT at 1.5 ATA. All three patients had improvement in the oxygenation of these areas as seen on postHBOT SPECT scans, which was correlated with clinical improvement [65]. HBOT has been used with clinical effectiveness in some cerebral hypoperfusion disorders including lupus [72] and traumatic midbrain syndrome [73], and may be benecial in acute ischemic stroke [74] and acute myocardial infarction [16].

In addition, HBOT has been used in several studies on children with cerebral palsy (CP). Some children with CP due to perinatal asphyxia have focal areas of cerebral hypoperfusion on SPECT scans [75]. Signicant clinical improvements were found in one study of children with CP after 20 sessions of HBOT at 95% oxygen and 1.75 ATA [76]. Other studies using HBOT in cerebral hypoperfusion disorders have been performed at lower pressures (1.5 ATA or less). Stoller recently reported on one pediatric case of fetal alcohol syndrome, which is considered irreversible and incurable [13] and is characterized by cerebral hypoperfusion on SPECT studies [77]. Using HBOT at 1.5 ATA, the child had statistically signicant improvements in verbal, memory, reaction time, impulse control, and visual motor scores [13]. In addition, Heuser et al. [78] treated a four year old autistic child using lower pressure HBOT at 1.3 ATA and reported striking improvement in behavior including memory and cognitive functions after only ten sessions. Furthermore, the child had improvement of cerebral hypoperfusion as measured by pre-HBOT and post-HBOT SPECT scans [78]. These case reports are notable because they demonstrate that some irreversible and permanent neurological conditions can have clinical improvements with HBOT. The number of HBOT sessions needed to produce full clinical improvements from cerebral hypoperfusion or ischemia is unclear. In one study combining the use of SPECT and HBOT, an average of 70 treatments was needed to show a signicant increase in cerebral blood oxygenation and metabolism in patients with chronic neurological disorders including CP, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. Of note, the rate of improvement in cerebral blood oxygenation was more profound during the last 35 treatments compared to the rst 35 [79]. In addition, reports from some HBOT researchers indicate that younger patients tend to have improvements more quickly than older patients [79]. Therefore, older patients may need more treatments. Since many autistic children experience at least a mild degree of cerebral hypoperfusion, this decreased blood ow could lead to an element of brain hypoxia. Multiple SPECT studies have shown evidence of relative brain hypoxia in certain cerebral hypoperfusion syndromes, including autism [78], which improved after HBOT [14,65,78,79]. It is certainly plausible that the increased oxygen delivery by HBOT could overcome any hypoxia caused by hypoperfusion and thus lead to improvements in the symptoms of autistic children.

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Rossignol and Rossignol showed increased survival and decreased proteinuria, anti-dsDNA antibody titers, and immune-complex deposition in lupus-prone autoimmune mice [98]. Furthermore, HBOT has been used in animal studies to improve colitis [93]. Interestingly, thirty sessions of HBOT at 2.0 ATA has been used in humans to achieve remission of ulcerative colitis not responding to conventional therapies [99]. This may be relevant in autistic children given the higher prevalence of gastrointestinal mucosal inammation described previously. Given the results of these studies, it is certainly plausible that HBOT can decrease both neuroinammation and gastrointestinal inammation in autistic children and thereby potentially lead to improvements in symptoms.

Improving neuroinammation in autism

Evidence of neuroinammation in autism
Recent studies reveal that autism is characterized by neuroinammation. Autopsy brain samples of autistic patients demonstrate an active neuroinammatory process in the middle frontal gryus, anterior cingulate gryus, and cerebellar hemispheres including increased microglial and astroglial activation and increased proinammatory cytokines. Furthermore, cerebrospinal uid obtained from living autistic patients also showed a prominent proinammatory prole [49]. Previous studies of autistic children have shown circulating serum autoantibodies to brain elements including neuron-axon lament protein and glial brillary acidic protein [80], the caudate nucleus, cerebral cortex and cerebellum [81,82] and neuron-specic antigens including myelin basic protein [83,84]. Inammation in autistic children is not limited to the brain. When compared to typical children, autistic children make signicantly more serum antibodies against gliadin and casein peptides [85], produce more pro-inammatory cytokines [86], and have an imbalance of CD4+ and CD8+ cells [87]. Furthermore, some patients with autism have mucosal inammation of the stomach, small intestine and colon characterized by ileo-colonic lymphoid nodular hyperplasia [88]. In these children, the gastrointestinal mucosa has evidence of proinammatory cytokines [89], increased lymphocytic density, and epithelial IgG deposits mimicking an autoimmune lesion [90]. Several different therapies have been employed in treating the inammation found in autistic children with some clinical success, including intravenous immune globulin [91]. Further research is needed to clarify the role of inammation in autism and to investigate potential therapies [92]. However, HBOT may be useful in decreasing inammation found in autistic patients and may thereby improve symptoms.

Improving oxidative stress in autism

Evidence of increased oxidative stress in autism
Recent studies have shown that autistic children have evidence of increased oxidative stress including lower serum glutathione levels [100]. Sogut et al. [101] demonstrated that autistic children had increased red blood cell nitric oxide, which is a known reactive free radical and is toxic to the brain [101]. James et al. [100] recently showed that total serum glutathione levels were 46% lower and oxidized glutathione was 72% higher in autistic children when compared to neurotypical controls. This was reected in a lower redox ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione, which presumably led to decreased antioxidant ability in these autistic children [100]. Lower serum antioxidant enzyme, antioxidant nutrient, and glutathione levels, as well as higher pro-oxidants have been found in multiple studies of autistic children [102]. Furthermore, treatment with anti-oxidants has been shown to raise the levels of reduced glutathione in the serum of autistic children and appears to improve symptoms [100]. It is speculated that treatment with hyperbaric oxygen may also help reduce oxidative stress in autistic children.

HBOT use in inammatory conditions The effect of HBOT on oxidative stress

Several animal studies have revealed that HBOT has potent anti-inammatory tissue effects [93,94] with equivalence to diclofenac 20 mg/kg noted in one study using HBOT at 2.4 ATA and 100% oxygen [95]. HBOT has also been shown to decrease the symptoms of advanced arthritis in rats [96] and attenuates the inammatory response in the peritoneal cavity caused by injected meconium [97]. In addition, one animal study using HBOT at 2.5 ATA Multiple studies have shown neutral effects on oxidative stress with HBOT use [103]. In one study on horse platelets, measures of oxidative stress were not increased after HBOT; in fact, a rise in the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) was found 24 h after HBOT without a fall in glutathione levels [104]. In another study on dogs, following 18 min of complete cerebral ischemia, HBOT at

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children 2.0 ATA reduced brain damage without increasing oxidative stress [105]. Furthermore, in a rat model of reperfusion, HBOT extended skin ap life without evidence of oxidative stress [106]. In addition, numerous studies have shown improvements in oxidative stress with HBOT including increased production of antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes and decreased markers of oxidative stress such as malondialdehyde [105,107,108]. An improvement in the survival rate of skin aps and an increase in SOD levels were found in one study when rats were exposed to hyperbaric oxygen at 2.0 ATA [109]. In another study, HBOT at 2.5 ATA induced the production of antioxidants and decreased malondialdehyde levels in rats [107]. Furthermore, in a study of rats with pancreatitis, HBOT at 2.5 ATA decreased oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde, and increased the levels of the anti-oxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and SOD [108]. HBOT has also been shown to acutely raise the levels of reduced glutathione in the plasma and lymphocytes of some humans after just one treatment session at 2.5 ATA [110]. Finally, ischemia-reperfusion injuries usually cause oxidative stress through decreases in glutathione levels and activities of catalase and SOD. However, in one rat study of ischemia, pretreatment with 13 doses of HBOT caused an increase in liver glutathione and SOD levels and protected against liver injury; control animals not receiving HBOT actually had drops in glutathione and anti-oxidant enzyme levels and had concomitant liver damage [111].

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effects in the human body [117119]. The production of small amounts of oxygen radicals may confer protection from future hypoxia and this effect has been termed ischemic tolerance. In one animal study, pre-treatment with HBOT at 2.0 ATA prior to an ischemia insult induced ischemic tolerance whereas pre-treatment at 3.0 ATA did not, possibly because this higher pressure may have generated too many oxygen radicals [116]. Nevertheless, many studies demonstrate that HBOT lowers oxidative stress. Furthermore, oxidative stress appears to be less of a concern at pressures under 2.0 ATA, which are often used clinically [116]. In spite of this, therapies to raise glutathione levels [100] and the use of antioxidants [120] may be benecial in patients with conditions of increased oxidative stress before HBOT is contemplated. Several antioxidant supplements have been found to attenuate oxidative stress induced by high pressure HBOT including a-lipoic acid [112], melatonin [121], N-acetylcysteine [111,122], vitamin E [123], riboavin [124], selenium [123,124], and glutathione [125]. Based upon these ndings, a combination of antioxidants and HBOT may help reduce oxidative stress in autistic children and lead to improvements in symptoms.

Improving stem cell mobilization in autism

Recently, HBOT at 2.0 ATA and 100% oxygen for 2 h was shown to mobilize stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow of humans. Elevations were found in the number of colony-forming cells as demonstrated by an increase in the number of CD34+ cells by almost 2-fold [126]. This nding is relevant because autism and hypoxic brain injuries are considered by many to be permanent conditions. However, new research is revealing that even long-standing brain disorders may be partially reversible [13,14]. Recently, stem cells have been isolated in the adult brain. This leads to the possibility of neuropoiesis, or regrowth, of certain brain cells. A possible scenario for inducing brain repair through the use of existing mature brain stem cells has been described and is dependent on an intact vascular supply and adequate oxygen [127], both of which can be enhanced by HBOT.

HBOT, reactive oxygen species, and anti-oxidants

Concerns have been raised that HBOT may cause increased oxidative stress through the production of reactive oxygen species [112]. This concern is controversial as studies have shown mixed results. Contrary to the studies discussed previously, several studies using HBOT at 2.5 ATA or greater have found evidence of increased oxidative stress [113 115]. Support for this higher pressure effect was found in one study, which demonstrated that HBOT at 2.0 ATA increased SOD levels whereas HBOT at 3.0 ATA caused SOD levels to decrease, presumably because the SOD had to neutralize more free radicals at the 3.0 ATA pressure [116]. Thus, from an oxidative stress and SOD production standpoint, there might be an optimal HBOT pressure, which falls somewhere below 2.5 ATA. Along a similar line of thought, some authors have speculated that a limited quantity of reactive oxygen metabolites may actually have benecial

Testing the hypothesis

There is a strong possibility that HBOT could play an integral role in improving brain disorders associated with hypoxia, hypoperfusion, inammation,

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Table 1 Autism . Cerebral perfusion m Inammation m Oxidative stress Neurodegenerative disease Summary of HBOT use in autism HBOT m . . m Perfusion to brain tissue Inammation Oxidative stress Stem cells

Rossignol and Rossignol fusion disorders [1315,65], it was hypothesized that low pressure HBOT would also help autism, a disease in which cerebral hypoperfusion is an integral component [31,32]. Recently, evidence has accumulated that low pressure hyperbaric therapy at 1.3 ATA and less than 100% delivered oxygen may improve symptoms in some diseases associated with cerebral hypoperfusion. For instance, one study using hyperbaric therapy at 1.3 ATA and room air demonstrated clinical improvements in some children with CP [129,130], a disease shown to have evidence of diminished cerebral blood ow [75]. Furthermore, one case report indicated striking improvement in a 4 year old child with autism after using hyperbaric therapy for 10 sessions at 1.3 ATA and room air. The child also had improvement of cerebral hypoperfusion as measured by pre-HBOT and post-HBOT SPECT scans [78]. Based upon these ndings, it was hypothesized that low pressure HBOT would improve symptoms of autism. A retrospective case series was examined to evaluate this hypothesis. A review of the medical literature was performed using MEDLINE and Google Scholar and no clinical studies were found on the use of HBOT in autistic children.

and/or oxidative stress, including autism, through the improvement of oxygen supply, decreased inammation and oxidative stress, and/or the recruitment of new stem cells (see Table 1). This in turn should lead to improved clinical outcomes. Some physicians have begun using HBOT in autistic children and anecdotal reports indicate that HBOT has improved symptoms in autistic children including enhancements in socialization, language, and repetitive behaviors [78,128]. A recent retrospective case series also indicates that low pressure HBOT may improve symptoms in autistic children (see Appendix A). Further research in this area, including HBOT trials in autistic patients, is urgently needed to test this hypothesis.

Acknowledgments
The authors thank the following for reviewing this manuscript and offering advice: Dr. John Battiston, Dr. Bentley Calhoun, Mr. Michael Haynes, Dr. Elizabeth Mumper, Dr. David Slawson, and Dr. Kyle Van Dyke. Written consent was obtained from the childrens parent(s) for publication of case series data. The authors have two autistic sons who participated in the case series.

Methods
This study is a retrospective analysis of 6 autistic children who underwent low-pressure HBOT. All 6 children had a prior diagnosis of autism (DSM-IV 299.00) by an outside physician and none of the children had previously received HBOT. In the normal course of treatment, parent-rated scales were obtained pre-treatment and post-treatment. The University of Virginia Institutional Review Board for Health Sciences Research approved our retrospective examination of cases in this study and for the use of this data for publication. Informed consent was obtained from each childs parent(s) prior to starting HBOT. All 6 children started and 5 completed 40 1 h sessions of low pressure HBOT at 1.3 ATA and 2830% oxygen (after adjustment for the pressure effect) over a three month period. One child (Child C) only nished twenty-ve sessions due to scheduling conicts and was included in the analysis. All 6 children were taking multiple antioxidant supplements before starting HBOT. Children were allowed to continue all current therapies and to add new ones during HBOT. The characteristics of the children, including age and sex, are found in Table 2. A low pressure hyperbaric chamber was used. Room air mixed with oxygen from an oxygen concentrator was pumped into the pressurized

Appendix A. Low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy1 improves symptoms in autistic children: A retrospective case series
Background
Since low pressure HBOT (under 1.5 ATA) improved symptoms in some patients with cerebral hypoper1 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) normally refers to inhaling 100% oxygen at greater than 1 ATA in a pressurized chamber [9]. However, for the purposes of this case series, the treatment with hyperbaric pressure at 1.3 ATA augmented with 2830% oxygen is referred to as HBOT. Hyperbaric pressure at 1.3 ATA and room air is simply termed hyperbaric therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children

Table 2 Child A B Cb D E F
a b

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Patient characteristics and scoresa Age 2 4 3 7 6 7 Sex M M M M F F ATEC before HBOT 40 91 75 35 88 24 ATEC after HBOT 22 55 64 32 80 22 CARS before HBOT 21 37.5 45 27 41.5 23 CARS after HBOT 17 30 38 25 39.5 22 SRS before HBOT 98 154 135 94 139 54 SRS after HBOT 44 110 121 62 121 67

Declining scores indicate improvement on these scales. Received only 25 HBOT treatments.

Table 3 Age

Average score changesa by age ATEC before HBOT 68.7 49.0 58.8 ATEC after HBOT 47.0 44.7 45.8 CARS before HBOT 34.5 30.5 32.5 CARS after HBOT 28.3 28.8 28.6 SRS before HBOT 129.0 95.7 112.3 SRS after HBOT 91.7 83.3 87.5

4 and under 5 and older All children

a

Declining scores indicate improvement on these scales.

chamber, resulting in a nal chamber oxygen concentration of 2830% by direct oximetry measurement using a Moxy oxygen monitor and after adjustment for the pressure effect. Multiple random oximetry measurements were taken on different treatment days to verify the consistency of the chamber oxygen concentration, which uniformly remained 2830%. Parent rated pre-treatment scores and post-treatment scores were calculated for each subject (see Table 2) using the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). ATEC is a scoring system of verbal communication, sociability, sensory/cognitive awareness, and health/autistic behaviors published by the Autism Research Institute [131]. CARS is a widely used scale for screening and diagnosing autism and has been shown to correlate very well with

the DSM-IV criteria for autism diagnosis [132]. SRS is a recently validated test of interpersonal behavior, communication, and stereotypical traits in autism [133].

Results
Low pressure HBOT was well tolerated by all 6 children with no adverse effects noted. More dramatic improvements were found in children age 4 and under when compared to those in the older group (Table 3). ATEC score results The average improvement in all children on ATEC was 22.1% (p = 0.0538) ( Fig. 1). ATEC scores improved by 31.6% in the younger group compared to 8.8% in the older group (Fig. 2).

Child A Child B 100

Child C Child D

Child E Child F

80 60

80

Score

Score

60 40 20 0

40 20 0 Age Under 5 Age Over 5

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Figure 1

ATEC scores for all children.

Figure 2

ATEC scores by age.

224 CARS score results The average improvement in all children on CARS was 12.1% (p = 0.0178) (Fig. 3). CARS improved

Rossignol and Rossignol 18.0% in the younger group and 5.6% in the older group (Fig. 4). SRS score results The average improvement in all children on SRS was 22.1% (p = 0.0518) (Fig. 5). SRS improved 28.9% in the younger group and 13.0% in the older group (Fig. 6).

Child A Child B 50 40 Score 30 20 10 0

Child C Child D

Child E Child F

Discussion
Autism is characterized, in part, by decreased cerebral blood ow [31,32]. Low pressure HBOT has been used in some cerebral hypoperfusion conditions including CP. Recently, a study demonstrated that some children with CP had clinical improvements using hyperbaric therapy at 1.3 ATA. In this study, 111 patients with CP and a history of hypoxia in the perinatal period had statistically signicant clinical improvements in gross motor function, memory, attention, and language production after hyperbaric therapy. One group received lower pressure hyperbaric therapy at 1.3 ATA and room air while the other group was given higher pressure HBOT at 1.75 ATA and 100% oxygen. Interestingly, the improvements in symptoms were statistically equivalent in the two groups [129]. Most of the improvements continued for 3 months after treatment and some of the children from the study began walking, speaking, and sitting for the rst times in their lives [130]. However, it must be noted that this study was controversial, as children in the lower pressure group improved equally with children in the higher pressure group. However, based on these ndings, it was hypothesized that low-pressure HBOT could potentially improve symptoms in autistic children. This case series suggests that low pressure HBOT may indeed be benecial in the treatment of autism. An interesting nding from this case series was that the younger children had more signicant improvements in clinical outcome scores than the older children. This is congruent with reports from some HBOT researchers indicating that younger patients tend to have improvements more quickly than older patients [79]. This effect may be partially explained by the ndings of a previous study, which showed that autistic children aged 34 years experience diminished frontal lobe blood ow compared to age-matched neurotypical children [41]. It is possible that HBOT in younger autistic children can improve cerebral oxygenation and thus overcome the effects of hypoperfusion and aid these children in catching up with their neurotypical

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Figure 3

CARS scores for all children.

40 30 Score 20 10 0 Age Under 5 Age Over 5

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Figure 4

CARS scores by age.

Child A Child B 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Child C Child D

Child E Child F

Score

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Figure 5

SRS scores for all children.

140 120 100 Score 80 60 40 20 0 Age Under 5 Age Over 5

Before HBOT

After 40 HBOT

Figure 6

SRS scores by age.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve symptoms in autistic children peers. Furthermore, the younger children in this case series may have had less overall hypoperfusion to surmount because decreased cerebral blood ow to areas associated with communication has been shown to worsen with increasing age in autistic children [27]. It is likely that the older children in this case series need more than 40 HBOT sessions to show further improvements, especially since some HBOT researchers have noted that 5080 HBOT sessions are typically needed to show significant clinical gains [79]. In addition, the chamber was augmented with only 2830% oxygen instead of 100% oxygen. It is possible that the children in this case series may have experienced more improvements if 100% oxygen and/or a higher pressure had been used. These speculations certainly warrant further testing. This case series did have several inherent limitations. Children were allowed to continue all other therapies for autism and also add new ones, such as supplements. Therefore, other therapies could have contributed to the some of the clinical gains. Parents were not blinded to the fact that their children received HBOT and evaluation of the children was through parent-rated scales, either of which could lead to bias. There was no placebo or control group. Thus, the improvements could have been due merely to the natural development of the children, although none of the parents reported their child as undergoing developmental spurts of similar or greater magnitude in the recent past. Finally, this series lacked power because the sample size was small. Despite these limitations, the analysis of this case series suggests substantial clinical benets were produced, and therefore, this hypothesis needs to be tested in a formal prospective study.

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Conclusions
HBOT has been shown to increase oxygen delivery to hypoperfused or hypoxic tissues, decrease inammation and oxidative stress, and mobilize stem cells from human bone marrow. The mechanism of clinical improvements in ATEC, CARS, and SRS scores in the children studied may be secondary to increased oxygenation of underperfused areas of the autistic brain, reduced neuroinammation, decreased oxidative stress, or a combination of these. This case series suggests that low pressure HBOT improves symptoms in autistic children. Further research in this area, including HBOT trials in autistic patients, using observers blinded to the intervention, is now needed to test this hypothesis.

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